I STAND FIRM FOR TRUE CONSERVATIVE PHILOSOPHY, AND AGAINST RAPSCALLIONS OF ALL POLITICAL STRIPES.

Friday, September 01, 2006

R-E-S-P-E-C-T?

That we are to stand by the president, right or wrong is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.Theodore Roosevelt, when asked about his criticism of Woodrow Wilson

Liberals are fond of trotting out this famous quote by President Theodore Roosevelt to impugn those who would ask that the incumbent in the office of the Presidency be treated with the dignity congruent with that office.

I ask them to imagine how TR – a famously devoted father – would have reacted if his son Kermit was portrayed as a devotee of drinking games, as the Bush twins are this week in ‘Doonesbury’, or if he were the butt of judicially condoned t-shirts worn by schoolchildren, as happened in Vermont this week, or as a President who survived an assassination attempt, he were shown as the protagonist of a play showing the killing of the President.

The schoolchild wore a shirt depicting the President drinking and doing cocaine, a reference to a troubled past which is thirty years old, which he was foolish enough to seek help for and be honest about. Doubtless, it was manufactured by a hypocrite who was infuriated that people questioned Clinton’s foolish and dishonest assertion that while he had been present when marijuana was smoked, he had never inhaled. A link to the story and analysis of it is HERE. Naturally, the courts have ruled that prohibiting the child from wearing the shirt to school is an inhibition of his right to free speech.

Now, we also have a feature film called Death of a President, depicting the assignation of President Bush in documentary style. It will have its premiere screening on Sept. 10th at the Toronto Film Festival. Some quotes from the British director of the film, Gabriel Range, are indicative of its tone, “OK, we know that FBI agents have sometimes been on the other side of the war on crime, particularly in Boston…It is a serious and sensitive film. There is no way it would encourage anyone to assassinate Bush and usher in Cheney’s America." Apparently, the ‘other side’ is all those folks still driving around with the bumper stickers that say ‘He’s Not MY President’.

Porcupine is most curious about the release plans for this film. A link provided HERE shows a synopsis of the film provided by the Toronto Film Festival. It notes that the film is being released in English and Arabic.Exactly who do you suppose is the target audience here?

And might this cross the Roosevelt line over to disrespect?

Porcupine hopes you will take the time to visit the Rent My Blog box on his sidebar, and read Drivin' Barefoot!. It is written by his friend, ParaTed2K, who was one of the people Porcupine was chatting with live on the night of the mine collapse, and who asked the best questions (read HERE). His blog is as intelligent as he is.

2 Comments:

TR was also not a big fan of the "muckrakers," the journalists who sought to expose scandal and hypocrissy. Throughout the 20th and into the 21st century, however, we've found them extremely useful. Times do indeed change.

I don't know, Peter. Maybe its just in the nature of liber versus conservative, but I worry less about how much respect teenagers in Vermont show the government, and worry mmore about how much respect my government shows me.

About Me

Known as 'Peter Porcupine', I championed traditional rural England and its values against changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution. As the father of modern political commentary, I invented the attack ad...or pamphlet. In my 'Political Register', I was the first to pubish political debates to inform the public about the conduct of politicians. Fleeing England after accusing my Regiment of financial chicanery, I came to America in order to live and write in a free country, until I faced a jail sentence for my pamphlets. While in America, my 'Porcupine's Gazette' was the most widely read political commentary of my day. After returning to England, I served two years in Newgate for writing to protest flogging in the army, and returned to America again. Returning to England shortly before I died, I spent my last years as a Member of Parliament.